Springing into the Break

Wow, I can't believe we are approaching Spring Break with just under a week left of school! Time has definitely gone by quickly, especially with our busy term 2 schedule with so much happening around the school and classroom!

It has been a fast paced term 2 and in a blink of an eye, we are nearing the end of it already. Students in division 4 worked extremely hard throughout this term and completed many projects, tasks, assignments, and shown tremendous growth in their learning which is the most important.

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In Language Arts, we completed our novel study of the 'Hatchet' and went through a thrilling but exciting journey in the wilderness with the character Brian. Now, we plan to complete our novel study with our iteration of the book by doing our Book in a Bag activity.

We focused our attention on the dynamic character of Brian, the many lessons he learned throughout his survival in the wilderness, his mindset, and how he became "new" Brian through all his experiences while trying to survive.

This term in Language Arts, we also did some writing. Every student in our class wrote a speech on an Authentic Moment in their lives. A lightbulb moment, an 'Aha!' moment, a moment where they learned a valuable lesson. Students did a tremendous job not only telling their story, but also conveying a message that they wanted the audience to learn from their experiences. Students focused on the delivery of their speech, their public speaking skills, volume, pace, body language, and eye contact. A congratulations to three grade 6s in our class that were chosen to present their speech to the whole school in the gym, but not only did they deliver it, they also won the top 3 speeches in grade 6! Congratulations you three!

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Last week, the students completed their Social Studies Multi-Cultural Project and all of whom presented at our day time and evening fair! I am SO proud of the work that the students put in for this project, and the amazing work that they produced to make it successful. Students dedicated a lot of time into their research, creativity skills, and one of the best parts was sharing the foods from all over the world! It was a fantastic evening, and it would not have been possible without all the parents and families that contributed! Thank you for the continued support in the students' learning at home and at school and providing them an opportunity to present and share their learning with everyone else! The students not only learned a lot about the country of their choice, but they also learned valuable lessons in the process of completing the projects. Students were mindful in their planning, research, and production of their poster, and they can be proud of their final products! Amazing job by everyone in divisions 1-4!

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Lastly, we completed this term with a fun field trip to Grouse Mountain as we got to explore the outdoors in snowshoes! We were gifted with snowfall at the top of the mountain making it a glorious experience and spectacle. Students hiked through some trails, making some pit stops along the way to learn about the Grizzly Bear rescues (Code Words: Grinder and Coola) who were still hibernating in their dens. We learned about survival skills in the snow, we stopped and checked out the Long House made of cedar wood, and we got to do lots of sliding down slopes!

It was an exciting experience for many students, having the opportunity to ride on the school bus, take the gondola up and down the mountain, and also trying out snow shoeing for the first time!

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These are just some of the highlights of Term 2, and we barely scratched the surface of everything we did!

It has certainly been a busy term, but I am extremely grateful for all the students in this class for their hard work and the ownership that they have shown to learn and to grow. The level of improvement in this class in all areas of learning and social development has increased dramatically throughout this school year so far.

I am looking forward to the last term of the school year, and I can't wait to do more activities with this class! I hope everyone has a tremendous Spring Break, a great time to reset, recharge, and hopefully enjoy the sun too!

Once again, none of the improvements and growth would have been possible without all the support from parents and families at home. Your dedication to helping them grow each and everyday is amazing, and I am thankful to have your support throughout the school year so far.

Have a great Spring Break!